skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

State Employees' 2012 Wish List: More Revenue, Fewer Layoffs

play audio
Play

Tuesday, December 27, 2011   

OLYMPIA, Wash. - There are 8,500 fewer state employees in Washington than when the recession began - and in the State Parks Department, 160 more are scheduled to get pink slips to help close an $11 million budget gap in that agency. However, Tim Welch, director of public affairs for the Washington Federation of State Employees, says the new year will bring a different tone to the state legislature, as lawmakers get the message that another all-cuts budget may hurt more people than it helps.

"We are in kind of a world of hurt, and they are looking at different revenue options - perhaps closing some loopholes, some other creative ways - to avoid the all-cuts budget that has been out there. They're on that path; I think they can get the job done in the regular session."

In this month's special session, lawmakers approved cuts and delayed payments that get only one-quarter of the way to closing the total state budget shortfall. Some legislators called it a good start on tackling a big problem. Others said it just delayed having to make the toughest decisions until January.

The next state labor negotiations start in February for contracts that begin in 2013. Welch says it has become more difficult to hire well-qualified state workers, and many others have left of their own accord because of the uncertainty brought on by the budget crisis.

"If you look at the State of Washington as the largest employer in the state - larger than Boeing, larger than Microsoft - and you're gonna treat it like a business, you've got to be able to keep and attract good people. The current policy of cut, cut, cut and blaming state employees is not the right way to go."

Welch says 1,500 state workers lost their jobs this year.





get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …


Organizations fighting wage theft said it harms affected workers and surrounding communities because the money withheld is not being circulated through the local economy. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Environment

play sound

A farm group is helping Iowa agriculture producers find ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen they use on their crops. Excess nitrates can wind up …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021